Wimbledon Championships is an annual British tennis tournament created in 1877 and played on outdoor grass courts[a][b][3] at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in the Wimbledon suburb of London, United Kingdom.[4] The Gentlemen's Singles was the first event contested in 1877.[2] The Wimbledon Championships are played in the first two weeks of July (as of July 2017; prior to this, they were played in the last week of June and first week of July) and have chronologically been the third of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987.[4] The event was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of World War I and again from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II.[5] It was also cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The Gentlemen's Singles' rules have undergone several changes since the first edition. From 1878 until 1921, the event started with a knockout phase, the All Comers' Singles, whose winner then faced the defending champion in a challenge round. The All Comers' winner was automatically awarded the title six times (1879, 1887, 1891, 1895, 1907, 1908) in the absence of the previous year's champion. The challenge round system was abolished with the 1922 edition.[7] Since the first championships, all matches have been played at the best-of-five sets. Between 1877 and 1883, the winner of the next game at five games all took the set in every match except the All Comers' final, and the challenge round, which were won with six games and a two games advantage. All sets were decided in this advantage format from 1884 to 1970.[7] The best-of-12-points lingering death tie-break was introduced in 1971 for the first four sets, played at eight games all until 1978 and at six games all since 1979.[7][8][9] Since 1949, the Gentlemen's Singles champion has received a miniature replica of the event's trophy, a silver-gilt cup created in 1887 with the engraved inscription: "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World".[10] New singles champions are traditionally elected honorary members of the AELTC by the club's committee.[c][13] In 2017, the Gentlemen's Singles winner received prize money of £2,220,000.[14] In the Amateur Era, William Renshaw (1881–1886, 1889) holds the record for the most titles in the Gentlemen's Singles, winning Wimbledon seven times. Renshaw's wins, however, came within the challenge round format, and he won the event only twice after going through a complete draw. Renshaw also holds the record for most consecutive titles with six (from 1881 to 1886). The record for most consecutive and most wins post challenge round during the Amateur Era is Fred Perry with three (1934–1936).[5] In the Open Era, since the inclusion of professional tennis players in 1968, Roger Federer (2003–2007, 2009, 2012, 2017) holds the record for the most Gentlemen's Singles titles with eight. Björn Borg (1976–1980) and Roger Federer (2003–2007) share the record for most consecutive victories with five.[5] Federer reached 7 consecutive Wimbledon Finals (2003 – 09) surpassing the old record of 6 consecutive finals by Borg (1976–81) and in the process the Swede won 41 consecutive matches at Wimbledon. This event was won without losing a single set in the entire tournament during the Open Era twice, in 1976 by Björn Borg and in 2017 by Roger Federer. Roger Federer is the only player in history, in both the Amateur and Open Eras, to reach the Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles Final twelve times. For 9 consecutive years from 1992 to 2000, an American player reached Wimbledon final winning 8 titles out of 9, only exception being 1996 Runner Up MaliVai Washington, a new open era record. William Renshaw was the first man to win seven championships. Reginald Doherty won Wimbledon four times and his brother Laurence won it five times. Fred Perry won three consecutive championships and was the last British man to win  Wimbledon (1936) until Andy Murray's win 77 years later in 2013. Björn Borg won five consecutive titles between 1976 and 1980. Roger Federer is an eight-time champion, an all-time men's record. List of champions as of 2008, in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. The Gentlemen's Singles trophy (left), and the Ladies' Singles trophy (right). Years in italic type denote titles defended in the challenge round. ^ Since 2009, Centre Court features a retractable roof, allowing indoor and night-time play.[1] ^ Wimbledon entered the Open Era with the 1968 edition, allowing professional players to compete alongside amateurs.[2] ^ John McEnroe is the only player to have been denied membership in 1981, because of his on-court behaviour during the championships.[11][12] ^ a b Each year is linked to an article about that particular event's draw. ^ a b "British Isles" (BRI) is used for players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), distinct from "Great Britain" (GBR) used for players from the United Kingdom (1922–present).[5][16] ^ Anthony Wilding won the challenge round after Herbert Roper Barrett retired because of fatigue.[17] ^ The tournament was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of World War I.[5] ^ Sidney Wood won the final by walkover after Frank Shields withdrew because of a knee injury.[18] ^ The tournament was not held from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II.[5] ^ He is recorded at the current Wimbledon website as a Peruvian citizen, but in actuality he played for the United States.[19][20] ^ Thirty-two wins by players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), plus five wins by players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922–present).[5][16] ^ Three wins by players from West Germany (FRG, 1949–1990), plus one win by a player from Germany (GER, 1990–present). ^ Czechoslovakia (TCH, 1918–1992) split into the Czech Republic (CZE, 1993–present) and Slovakia (SVK, 1993–present). "Gentlemen's Singles Finals 1877-2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 22 July 2017. "Grand Slam Tournaments – Wimbledon" (PDF). usta.com. United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2009-07-01. "Wimbledon-List of Wimbledon men's singles champions". ESPN. Reuters. 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2009-07-05. ^ Harman, Neil (2009-04-22). "No more soaked strawberries – Centre Court, Wimbledon, gets a roof". The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2009-07-19. ^ a b "About Wimbledon – History: History". wimbledon.com. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2015-08-31. ^ "FAQ – Grass Courts" (PDF). wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2009-06-24. ^ a b "Tournament profile – Wimbledon". atpworldtour.com. ATP Tour, Inc. Retrieved 2009-07-05. ^ a b c d e f g "Gentlemen's Singles". wimbledon.com. AELTC. Retrieved 2 March 2019. ^ a b Fuller, Russell (1 April 2020). "Wimbledon cancelled due to coronavirus – where does that leave tennis in 2020?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 April 2020. ^ a b c Barrett, John (1986). 100 Wimbledon Championships: A Celebration. Collins Willow. ISBN 978-0-00-218220-1. ^ Roberts, John (1998-08-05). "Tennis: Fast, fan friendly – but full of faults". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-06-24. ^ "Breaking with tradition". The Age. 2004-01-25. Retrieved 2009-07-27. ^ "About Wimbledon – Trophies". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 8 October 2017. ^ "Jolly snub for McEnroe; he's refused All-England". St. Petersburg Times. United Press International. 1981-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-27. ^ Zenilman, Avi (2009-06-24). "Back Issues: McEnroe vs. Thatcher". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2009-07-27. ^ "About Wimbledon – About the AELTC". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 8 October 2017. ^ "About Wimbledon – Prize Money and Finance". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 8 October 2017. ^ a b "Draws Archive, Gentlemen's Singles - The Championships, Wimbledon - Official Site by IBM". www.wimbledon.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. ^ a b "History – Rolls of Honour: Country abbreviations". wimbledon.org. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 2015-08-31. ^ Myers, Arthur Wallis (1916). Captain Anthony Wilding. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-548-88688-5. ^ "History - 1930s". The Championships, Wimbledon. www.wimbledon.com. Retrieved 2022-07-08. ^ "Draws Archive – The Championships, Wimbledon". Retrieved 2020-06-21. ^ "How they meet at Wimbledon, the 1959 Wimbledon draw". The Daily Telegraph. 18 Jun 1959. pp. Page 6. Retrieved 31 January 2023. This page was last edited on 26 November 2023, at 04:26 (UTC). additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.